FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 10, 2016

Brooklyn Gang Member Sentenced to 20 Years to Life for
Fatally Shooting Rival in Broad Daylight

Captured on High-Definition Video Surveillance Shooting Victim in Head

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 24-year-old Brooklyn man was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for fatally shooting a man in Flatbush, Brooklyn, killing him. The morning shooting was captured on high-definition surveillance video that clearly captured the defendant.

District Attorney Thompson said, “We will not allow gang members to settle their scores with guns, endangering innocent residents and sowing fear in our communities. We will prosecute them and send them to prison for many years, just like we did to this defendant, who killed a rival in the street in broad daylight.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Avon Simmons, 24, of 2505 Bedford Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy to 20 years to life in prison following his guilty plea to second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon on February 9, 2016.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on August 13, 2014 at 8:30 a.m., the defendant fired multiple shots at Prinso Ulysse, 26, who was standing outside of 2149 Cortelyou Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn. A bullet struck the side of the victim’s head and he suffered extensive hemorrhaging and swelling to the brain. He died in Kings County Hospital on September 3, 2014.

The shooting was captured on high definition surveillance video that clearly showed the defendant stepping into the roadway, firing a gun at the victim, who was on the sidewalk, and then walking away. The defendant is a member of the G-Stone Crips gang and likely targeted the victim in retaliation for a past incident in which the defendant’s brother was shot.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick O’Connor of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, under the supervision of Nicole Chavis, Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division.